I recently received my very first UDP (unsolicited dick pic) on Plenty of Fish. I know it's nothing new, people seem to get them all the time. On snapchat, kik, text messages, etc. And I know it's cliche, but until it happens to you, a truly non-consensual, unwelcome dick pic image, you just don't get how disturbing it is. Beyond the fact that most penises are NOT attractive, especially taken out of context of the body they belong to, they are sexually aggressive and completely violate your personal space. Forget boundaries. Forget DECENCY. An unwanted dick pic is too close for comfort to non-consensuality for me. The internet is real. Sending dick pics via dating apps is real. Just because you can hide behind a screen, doesn't mean that your actions, pics, words, anything don't have substance.

Through the ideation of the #UDPproject, I plan to push Sareytales's concept of turning ugly into art past even my own comfort zone. Instead of transforming these unwanted dick pics into graphic illustrations, I am going to take the actual dick pic and render it into a work of art. The veneer of subtlety that I have tried to to exercise in past designs has dropped to the floor. I hope this project will push the boundaries of my own creativity, and, perhaps will come to help define my brand of "The Art of Online Dating". I feel like this is a pivotal moment in my development as an artist, and in the journey I am taking as a person with Sareytales.